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Saturday, January 18, 2014

Last Week's Frugal Accomplishments

We hiked to the top of the ridge at a local park - beautiful view of Pikes Peak!

I trimmed Daughter's bangs - now all of us can see! (hee hee)

When I cleaned the bathrooms this week, I used this long plastic stick thing to clear all the drains of...really grody stuff. It's definitely not glamorous, but I tell you, it works really well, and in the long run, saves us buying some chemical or having someone out because drains have clogged. I never have to use it in the kitchen - probably because of all the hot water that goes down that drain (and...uh...because we don't wash our hair in there), but it does wonders for bathroom sinks and bathtub drains. We have had this 'single use' gadget for probably 8 years. I rinse it each time, dry it and return it to the packaging. We got it at Home Depot or Lowes, near the drain chemicals.

I got piano lesson books for daughter at a local music store. Because I asked, they gave me a homeschooler discount.

We used the wood stove in the living room throughout the week to keep the furnace off and keep the house warm.

I did some subbing at the library to bring in a little bit of extra money. While I was there I exchanged the books and media we had for some new stuff. I'm also pet-sitting for two families, so in addition to our critters, we have a dog, two cats and a horse to love on.

Husband used a $5 off a $5 or more purchase coupon from Staples to stock our supply of tape. The total was exactly $5, so it was 100% free.

taco salad

I shopped grocery sales and deals and made a menu. It is posted here. There was a fair amount of scratch cooking involved, which saves a lot of money and helps us know what is actually in our food.

Laundry was washed with homemade soap and dried on wood racks. Also, when the shampoo and conditioner bottles got to 'almost nothing' I added a little water to each of them, shook them well, and put the conditioner water in with the fabric softener. The shampoo water went into a foaming pump dispenser for hand-washing.

I finished a little rehab project. I got this hamper at goodwill - $8. the top had a plastic cover with a marble pattern on it, but it had faded to a really strange green color. I replaced it with this fabric - and I put a scrap of thin quilt batting under the fabric. I'm really happy with the result. The fabric, batting and staples were all on hand. The glue gun was involved too, but I didn't have to purchase anything except the hamper, so yay.

Daughter and I used a coupon for a free combo meal to eat lunch out one day.

Daughter was given a couple of owl pellets, and dissected one this week. She loves to dissect owl pellets!

We used a coupon at Staples to buy a 5 ream pack of copy paper. Excluding sales tax, it will be free after rebate.

Husband transferred two prescriptions to the Kmart pharmacy. They had to order meds for one, but I got a $25 gift card for the one they could fill. I will get another $25 gift card for the second one when I pick it up, which we can use for household items, groceries, etc. I will openly admit that some of that first gift card went for some Cadbury milk chocolate. And...yum. ;)

Started a lapghan from yarn on hand and 10 skeins fun fur from thrift store for $5.Bought a pair of pants for $1 at thrift store - new with price tag still attached $24.99Cooked all meals from scratch, dried all laundry on drying racks, Crocheted washcloth from cotton yarn purchased with 50% off coupon - enough left to make anotherHarvested about 5lbs tomatoes, enough lettuce/asian greens for 2 large salads daily for a weekLibrary - returned 5 books, took out 6; husband uses books on tape while he walks:4 returned, 4 taken out. While there signed up for Hoopla, a free borrowing site for books, music etc. Check at your library

Well, you know my husband had a heart attack on Monday afternoon. He is doing well and I am so thankful that we have the money in savings to pay all the medical bills. I filled a prescription that must be taken everyday or the stent could rejected. It was $258 for 30 tablets. Later that afternoon we found a card in the discharge pile of papers for a free months' supply. I was able to go to the pharmacy and get the money refunded. That was a blessing.

I just remembered something frugal!! I bought a rotisserie chicken at Sam's and used one breast for a meal size salad for 2, warmed the legs for supper the next day, made a chicken casserole today and made broth today to use the last of the meat for soup tomorrow. That will be 2 meals of soup. Five meals for $4.88.

Thanks, Terri! We did have a good week, and the hamper was a really easy upgrade. It was already that shade of blue, so I just went through the fabric I had on hand until I found something that looked nice with it. That saved me a lot of work!

Bellen, I admire your willingness to work with fun fur - a lot of my friends don't like it at all! :)

Lana, does your husband have to stay on the medication indefinitely, or is it only for some sort of tranistion? I don't know if there comes a time when the body 'accepts' the stent - pardon my ignorance. Continued prayers will be said for you and your beloved. Also, thanks for reminding me about rotisserie chickens - I seriously think they cost a less than the same size chicken, raw at the supermarket. I may work one into the last week of the month for a few meals.

Thanks for your kind words, Rhonda. That salad was me using up leftovers from the previous night! :)

I took my daughter back to college. It is 9 hours by car one way and wee took snacks and checked baas prices online to make sure wee filled up at the best price. I stayed overnight and tried out a different hotel that was significantly less expensive than where I have been staying. I am going back in March for a five night visit so this will save me a lot of money and is still ocean front -gotta love a kid that goes to college near an ocean!

I made a shopping list and stuck to it and planned meals based on what I have on hand and what I bought. I made rice pudding, quiche, and Italian bread today.

I am controlling utility use. If it is not being used, it is unplugged or the power strip to which it is connected is turned off.

The medication will be for 6-12 months. The stent becomes part of the artery is the way it was explained to us. After that the body will not reject it. We do not even know what our prescription plan is since we were not on meds before of any kind. Hubby's boss refuses to let him have his company laptop as she does not want him to be tempted to work so he cannot access the information!

Those Sam's chickens are huge! I think this one could have been pushing 4 pounds! We had the most delicious chicken noodle soup from the bone broth. They make such delicious broth. I think it is the dark browned skin that gives such great flavor.

Thanks for praying. We are doing well and I see improvement in him everyday. After being on the heart floor at the hospital and seeing so many tragic cases we are blessed to have had such a good outcome.

Great going on unclogging your bathroom drains, Laura! The thing with drains is that they accumulate chunks of different materials over time. The result is a huge blockage and clog which can all be avoided by doing routine maintenance, just like yours! Thanks for sharing! :)